However,an Investment NSW spokesman on Monday said the appointment did not need to go to cabinet for approval.

“Mr Barilaro’s appointment as a senior trade and investment commissioner (STIC) followed a lengthy and competitive global search process,managed by NGS Global,a specialised external recruitment talent firm,” the spokesman said.

“At the end of the initial process there was no suitable candidate and a second round of recruitment commenced.”

The spokesman added:“As with other recent STIC recruitment,this appointment was not required to go to cabinet for approval.”

NSW trade commissioner roles attract an annual salary of $500,000 plus expenses compared to a base pay rate of $407,980 for the premier,$343,460 for the deputy premier and $309,621 for the opposition leader.

The recruitment process for the trade commissioners was conducted by NGS Global. According to the documents obtained by Labor,more than $36,000 was spent on newspaper advertising for three trade commissioner roles,including the Americas. A further $8250 was spent on advertising inTheAustralian Financial Review.

Premier Dominic Perrottet has defended the appointment,insisting that Barilaro emerged as the best candidate from a global recruitment process.

Barilaro was contacted for comment but referred questions to Investment NSW.

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean on Monday said Barilaro’s appointment followed “proper process”.

Kean would not be drawn on whether he supported Perrottet appointing Barilaro to the trade commissioner role,but said he supported the process which was followed.

“John Barilaro was a trade minister and he appears qualified to be a trade commissioner,” Kean said. “I’ve been informed that this has gone through the proper process and that’s how decisions should be taken. I support the proper process being followed.”

NSW Labor leader Chris Minns said Barilaro’s appointment smacked of “jobs for the boys”.

“This is all the more offensive to frontline workers when you consider that Mr Barilaro’s expenses budget of over $100,000 is more than a nurse will earn in a year,not to mention the $450,000 a year salary,” Minns said. “I can think of one hundred better ways to spend this money.

“Based on what we already know,there are serious questions for the premier and the NSW government as to how this appointment was made and NSW Labor will be exploring those over the coming weeks.”

The former NSW Nationals leader announced five trade and investment commissioner positions and an agent-general in London in 2019 as part of a $100 million commitment to expand NSW’s global footprint.

An advertisement for the Americas,India/Middle East and Singapore commissioner roles,prepared by NGS Global,described the positions as the state government’s “most senior representative in regions and key members of NSW’s trade team”.

The draft job description,which is not dated,said key responsibilities included leading the state’s commercial,cultural and political interests across their region.

“High-quality candidates will have extensive experience at a senior executive level in international business or across government,and strong commercial acumen,” the ad said.

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